On to Nuremberg

 The next morning saw us at Jan Zoon's home.  We were given a wonderful gift to add to the World Puzzle Center. He gave us his Notre Dame puzzle!  What wonderful generosity.  

It is a big puzzle, but thankfully, he put it into boxes and we managed to fit it into the van.  We should have thought better about how to put it in there, because we had boxes shifting from one side to the other while I drove.  (When we got to Nuremberg we repacked the car and tied down the boxes.)

They showed us the doll house they have been working on and another beautiful puzzle that he created.  We stayed for a bit, had a cup of tea and chatted about puzzles and other things before taking our leave.

From here we went to see our friends Oskar and José again.  This is a real treat for George to see them whenever we are in the area. Both of them have the same silly sense of humor.  It makes for a lot of laughs.  Around 1/2 hour after we arrived Peter and Fredi came over and we all sat and talked for a while.  Later that evening we went for Greek food which was great as always.  

Sadly we had to leave the next morning to get to Northern Germany where we met with Bruce Whitehall.  We have been in correspondence about some puzzle related things, and thought since we are here we should stop by and say hello.  We arrived around 3, had a wonderful apple cake with cream and a cup of tea.  And then we headed out to town.  We had dinner in a French place, I of corse ordered currywurst.  Over diner we had a very nice chat.

From here we went to the theatre where we saw a MET live presentation of Carmen.  Now I really enjoyed the music, but not the story.  I mean, I know the story, but this time it was changed into something more modern.  Arms factory, sports cars, and I'm not giving anything away when I tell you that Carmen gets killed in the end. But by a baseball bat?  I'll stick with the classics thank you.  

But the wine they served was good, we were introduced to the theatre because we came all the way from Italy to their little place to view the opera, and there was chocolate on the way out the door. I've never seen anything like it.  A very fun evening.  

Bruce showed us his home and a number of puzzles he had for sale, but sadly we declined to purchase as we have already everything he was selling. 

The next day we awoke and once again said our goodbyes shortly after breakfast.  We were headed to Bernhard Schweitzers home before finally arriving in Nuremberg. Along the way, George managed to solve a puzzle that he found. 

We've known Bernhard for years and had a really nice time looking at his collection and Kirsten's art works.  They have a lovely home filled with many interesting things.  Not just puzzles.  Kirsten made a very delicious dinner for us and an even more amazing set of cakes!  She's a very good cook.  

We truly enjoyed our short visit.  I even got to see a book or two that I now will have to hunt down.  

This is always one of the joys of meeting people. Finding things we don't have and having to find them later.  In Bernard's collection, I am sure there are many.  I just need to unbox before committing to any new purchases of old puzzles.  Kirsten showed us some of her beautiful paintings.  Sadly, the van is full. 

Bernhard took us to see his workshop.  We discovered that George has the same saw.  The sander I new need to look for.  

The next morning we left for Nuremberg.  Our reason for being here.  I was warned that there was lots of construction and That was an understatement.  Not a major problem, but man did I have a headache when we got to the hotel.  First stop: a pharmacy for some aspirin.  Then back to the room to relax before the next days fun begins. 

Again, I am saddened by the lack of snow.  I would have expected to have at least a foot of ground covering, but the best we found was some black leftover plow deposit that I crunched over.  I'm sure that it is gone today.  Such a sad state of affairs.